Burn The Floor: Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev join cast



Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev of TV�s �So You Think You Can Dance� join the Broadway company of Burn the Floor on 18 Aug 2009 at the Longacre Theatre.

Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev replace special guest stars Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff of ABC�s 'Dancing with the Stars,' who played their final performance on 16 Aug 2009 as originally scheduled.

Both Garnis and Kovalev are frequent riders on SYTYCD�s 'Hot Tamale Train' � one of the show�s highest honors.

Garnis has also been a guest dancer on 'Dancing with the Stars,' 'Superstars of Dance' and 'The AcademyAwards.' She was born in Latvia and has been a star of the ballroom world for 10 years.

In addition to SYTYCD, Pasha has appeared on many TV shows including 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'Superstars of Dance.' Born in Siberia, Pasha has also enjoyed a successful career in ballroom competition.

Burn the Floor, the Latin and Ballroom dance show that has played around the globe, opened at the Longacre Theatre on 2 Aug 2009, following previews from 25 Jul 2009, where it is scheduled to close on 18 Oct 2009.

The show opened to mixed reviews: "can come to feel monotonous and mechanical" (NY Times); "the dance speaks eloquently for itself" (NY Daily News); "an experience that alternates between exhilarating and contrived" (The Record); "a two-hour adrenaline rush featuring some of the best and best-looking ballroom dancers in the world" (NY1); "it's a vulgarized dance marathon" (Variety).

Collectively holding over 100 Latin and Ballroom titles, the cast of Burn the Floor also feature Henry Bayalikov (NBC�s Superstars of Dance), Sharna Burgess (Fox�s So You Think You Can Dance), Kevin Clifton (International IDSF Open Champion), Sasha Farber (three-time Junior & Youth Latin Australian Champion), Jeremy Garner (six-time Australian Amateur Latin finalist), Anya Garnis (Fox�s So You Think You Can Dance), Gordana Grandosek (Italian Open Champion), Patrick Helm (Welsh Open Champion), Sarah Hives (ABC�s Dancing with the Stars), Melanie Hooper (two-time Australian Professional Latin Champion), Peta Murgatroyd (ABC�s Dancing with the Stars), Giselle Peacock (four-time U.S Champion), Sarah Soriano (8th in the world, British Open Championship � Youth Latin American), Damon & Rebecca Sugden (three-time Asian Pacific Ballroom Champions), Damian Whitewood (Australasian Champion), Trent Widdon (Australia�s Dancing with the Stars) and Robin Windsor (Ballroom & Latin International finalist).

Burn the Floor is created and choreographed by Jason Gilkison who is connected to the shows 'So You Think You Can Dance' (both the US and the Australian versions) and 'Superstars of Dance' as the captain of the Australian team.

Burn the Floor was first performed at Sir Elton John�s 50th birthday celebrations at the Hammersmith Palais Ballroom, London in 1997, since then the production has gone on to be a worldwide success with tours in many countries including Austrailia, Canada, Japan and across Europe. It has been seen by 30 million people in 30 countries.

The show is produced by Joe Watson, Richard Levi, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, and Marc Routh, in association with Dance Partner Inc/Harley Medcalf.

Click here to buy tickets for Burn the Floor

Originally published on

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